*PLEASE REFER TO THE "BREAKOUT 3" RTF DOCUMENT UNDER "RESPONSIBILITIES DIVIDED" LINK TO LEFT FOR UPDATED BREAKOUT INFORMATION*
*THIS WIKI IS STILL IN ITS "VIRGIN" FORM* [Alaina 5/30/2009]
STUDENT FOCUS:
• Beginning with Students- These students, this setting, this time
• Emphasize that students impact the planning (Instructional Context)
EXPLORE ENTRY:
Take a closer look at one of the video entries
ARCHITECTURE/PLANNING:
• How to use the Architecture in planning a video entry
• Talk through lesson ideas
• Maintaining Alignment in the Commentary
Outcomes:
Develop an awareness of the importance of students at the center.
Explore a video entry to be clear on what is required and begin brainstorming lesson ideas.
Articulate around the Architecture several unit or lesson design ideas.
Explore Curriculum Maps to determine best choices for this entry.
Activities:
1. "Knowledge of Students: At the Center of it All" - Materials Needed:notepad, Personal Inventory Chart from Day One, certificate area standards, Portfolio Directions (Instructional Context).
Every certificate has one or more standards that refer to knowing students. How committed are you to knowing all there is to know about your students so that it can guide your instructional decisions in the classroom? On Day One of this Summer Institute, we began the day with the development of your own personal vision for why you are pursuing National Board Certification. While this vision keeps you grounded as to why you are here, what this process will reveal to you over the next year is what truly lies at the center of your core beliefs. The National Board deliberately starts with Teachers are Committed to Students and Their Learning as the first of the Five Core Propositions. In this activity, you will begin where all National Board candidates must, with understanding how students will guide your description, analysis and reflection throughout this work. After all, everything you compose in your written commentary must be about these, students, in this setting, at this time. First, all aspects of students must be explored in both your practice and in what is part of your own core beliefs about teaching and learning.
We begin by exploring your core beliefs today, however you don't yet know the students or the setting in which you will be teaching until they all arrive the first day of school. Even then, these ideas are worth revisiting because ideas and beliefs change over time and under new circumstances. The following reflections will help you to examine these core beliefs. For the sake of this activity, bring your last group of students taught to mind. Facilitator:instruct participants to document their reflections on notepad provided.
Quickly list 10 adjectives, words, or phrases you would use to describe your students. Don't edit the list yet, just list the ideas as they immediately come to you.
Read your list. Imagine someone else is reading it, someone who doesn't know you. What would they say you believe about your students? What does your list tell you about your beliefs? What does it say about your perception of your students' ability to learn? About your role as their teacher?
Compare your list with someone next to you. Notice that your lists are not the same, but there may be similarities. What are the pieces that make your list unique.
Now here's the big question: How do your beliefs about your students impact your teaching? Your students' learning?
Now, let's return to the National Board Standards. Find the Standard most directly reflecting Knowledge of Students. Looking at the personal inventory charts you completed on Day One, answer these questions: How do your current beliefs about your students match the ideas reflected in the National Board Standards and Core Propositions? How do they vary? Why is this important?
When you write your written commentary, it must possess concrete examples of your current practice that demonstrates what you believe about your students and their learning, as well as the actions, strategies and choices you make for these students, in this setting, and at this time. Begin thinking about some of these examples. These concrete examples serve as "evidence" of your accomplished practice.
Discuss how the Instructional Context helps provide this basis of the remaining components of the written commentary, and what makes the characteristics of your students relevant? How do you go about selecting the relevant characteristics for the Written Commentary, how will this change throughout the course of your composing the entry?
2. "Explore a Video Entry"- Materials Needed:sticky notes, highlighters, Portfolio Overview graphic organizer, Portfolio Directions (video entries). Facilitator: Put up a parking lot for questions as they arise about the technical aspect of this entry. They will be addressed in Breakout 4, but first it is important to know what is required of the video entries prior to planning to videotape in the classroom.
The purpose of this activity is to present strategies to guide you as you plan for the completion of your video entry. Each certificate requires very specific directions on what must be included in the video recording, therefore it is extremely important that you know the particulars of your entry prior to recording the lessons you have planned for your entry. A common error candidates make is in recording unit lessons that they believe are "golden lessons" without reading and understanding what is required in the entry. Candidates become frustrated when they encounter these errors as they go to answer many of the questions in the portfolio entry and struggle with responding to the prompts. When candidates obtain a video clip that they are pleased with, they often become so attached to it, that they find themselves trying to "make it fit" rather than making choices that best reflect the entry. You don't want to find yourself trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. This is why pre-planning for this entry is key.
Activity: Explore one Video Entry (Since we are in like-certificate groups, the group should choose one to study in-depth)
Carefully read your Entry Description. It will tell you what knowledge and understanding you will need to demonstrate in the entry. Take it apart piece by piece and talk with a colleague about what it is asking you to show. Begin to think about some units/lessons that you currently do that may be good fits for this entry.
Know what it is you need to submit, by reading What Do I Need To Do? Planning for the individual pieces of this entry, will help you to make good decisions about what components of your lesson are best to showcase.
Since the video recording materials you will submit must reflect the elements of teaching practice that are judged essential to the National Board's vision of accomplished teaching, be sure to read and reflect on the Standards outlined in How Will My Response Be Scored? Think about how you might read these Standards through the "lens" of the content of this particular entry's lessons.
Pick out the key words from the Level 4 Rubric and internalize the connections that can be made between the content of your lesson and your ability to deepen students understanding of the content. How will you specifically provide evidence of these rubric concepts in your written commentary for this entry?
Facilitator: After each step above, read, talk, then complete each section of this form:
3. "Walk Through the Architecture"-Materials Needed:Favorite lesson/unit plan from classroom/content area, Cognitive-Architecture graphic organizers, Entry Planner graphic organizer. Facilitator: The purpose of this activity is to provide time for candidates to explore how current lessons/units fit within their regular teaching context. Candidates should work in pairs to allow for plenty of discussion.
Select one unit/lesson to explore more thoroughly in this walk through the architecture.
Review the handout of the Architecture of Accomplished Teaching
Use the Entry Planner Handout to walk though a unit/lesson that might fit the entry you have just explored.
Talk through your ideas with a colleague and provide time for both of you to share.
The purpose here is to simply walk through a favorite lesson and respond to each part of the architecture. This allows participants to see the simplicity of the questions they'll be asked to respond to in the portfolio instructions.
4. "Alignment in the Written Commentary"-Materials Needed:rope, toothpicks, glue (optional) Architecture of Accomplished Teaching, Portfolio Instructions. Facilitator: Follow the numbered "Get a Rope" steps below.
The Architecture of Accomplished Teaching is the framework that supports your Written Commentary. The prompts provided in the Portfolio Instructions are designed in a way that supports the architecture. The purpose of this activity is to find this subtle alignment and consider strategies for ensuring the alignment is written in a clear, consistent, and convincing way throughout the Written Commentary.
Activity: Get a Rope!
Provide each candidate with two lengths of rope, each approximately 32 inches in length. One will represent the teacher, the other the student.
Review the sections of the Architecture, and ask participants to tie a knot in the rope as we discuss each section of the Architecture on each rope.
Talk about the Instructional Context and how it relates to the Knowledge of Students. Emphasize the difference between what "teachers teach" and how "students learn" thus the two ropes representing the "teaching"... vs.. "learning"
Talk about the importance of goals and locate the prompts that relate to them in the Portfolio Instructions -physically touch the elements of the architecture.
Talk about the instructional strategies and find where in the portfolio instructions these questions are found
Talk about assessment.. locate questions that relate
Talk about reflection... locate questions that relate
After all sections have been reviewed and questions from the Portfolio have been linked... guide participants to create a double helix with their two lengths of rope. Use toothpicks to create the rungs between each knot. The toothpicks represent evidence that supports the link between teaching and learning. For example... Instructional goals of the teacher.. must be linked to evidence the students are progressing towards the intended goals.
If desired, participants can glue down the model for a tangible reminder of how these are linked in ALL of their entries.
Breakout 3: Mapping Out a Plan
*PLEASE REFER TO THE "BREAKOUT 3" RTF DOCUMENT UNDER "RESPONSIBILITIES DIVIDED" LINK TO LEFT FOR UPDATED BREAKOUT INFORMATION**THIS WIKI IS STILL IN ITS "VIRGIN" FORM* [Alaina 5/30/2009]
STUDENT FOCUS:
• Beginning with Students- These students, this setting, this time
• Emphasize that students impact the planning (Instructional Context)
EXPLORE ENTRY:
Take a closer look at one of the video entries
ARCHITECTURE/PLANNING:
• How to use the Architecture in planning a video entry
• Talk through lesson ideas
• Maintaining Alignment in the Commentary
Outcomes:
Activities:
1. "Knowledge of Students: At the Center of it All" - Materials Needed: notepad, Personal Inventory Chart from Day One, certificate area standards, Portfolio Directions (Instructional Context).
Videotaping Rubric from Pre-candidacy
Every certificate has one or more standards that refer to knowing students. How committed are you to knowing all there is to know about your students so that it can guide your instructional decisions in the classroom? On Day One of this Summer Institute, we began the day with the development of your own personal vision for why you are pursuing National Board Certification. While this vision keeps you grounded as to why you are here, what this process will reveal to you over the next year is what truly lies at the center of your core beliefs. The National Board deliberately starts with Teachers are Committed to Students and Their Learning as the first of the Five Core Propositions. In this activity, you will begin where all National Board candidates must, with understanding how students will guide your description, analysis and reflection throughout this work. After all, everything you compose in your written commentary must be about these, students, in this setting, at this time. First, all aspects of students must be explored in both your practice and in what is part of your own core beliefs about teaching and learning.
We begin by exploring your core beliefs today, however you don't yet know the students or the setting in which you will be teaching until they all arrive the first day of school. Even then, these ideas are worth revisiting because ideas and beliefs change over time and under new circumstances. The following reflections will help you to examine these core beliefs. For the sake of this activity, bring your last group of students taught to mind. Facilitator: instruct participants to document their reflections on notepad provided.
Now, let's return to the National Board Standards. Find the Standard most directly reflecting Knowledge of Students. Looking at the personal inventory charts you completed on Day One, answer these questions: How do your current beliefs about your students match the ideas reflected in the National Board Standards and Core Propositions? How do they vary? Why is this important?
When you write your written commentary, it must possess concrete examples of your current practice that demonstrates what you believe about your students and their learning, as well as the actions, strategies and choices you make for these students, in this setting, and at this time. Begin thinking about some of these examples. These concrete examples serve as "evidence" of your accomplished practice.
Discuss how the Instructional Context helps provide this basis of the remaining components of the written commentary, and what makes the characteristics of your students relevant? How do you go about selecting the relevant characteristics for the Written Commentary, how will this change throughout the course of your composing the entry?
2. "Explore a Video Entry"- Materials Needed: sticky notes, highlighters, Portfolio Overview graphic organizer, Portfolio Directions (video entries). Facilitator: Put up a parking lot for questions as they arise about the technical aspect of this entry. They will be addressed in Breakout 4, but first it is important to know what is required of the video entries prior to planning to videotape in the classroom.
The purpose of this activity is to present strategies to guide you as you plan for the completion of your video entry. Each certificate requires very specific directions on what must be included in the video recording, therefore it is extremely important that you know the particulars of your entry prior to recording the lessons you have planned for your entry. A common error candidates make is in recording unit lessons that they believe are "golden lessons" without reading and understanding what is required in the entry. Candidates become frustrated when they encounter these errors as they go to answer many of the questions in the portfolio entry and struggle with responding to the prompts. When candidates obtain a video clip that they are pleased with, they often become so attached to it, that they find themselves trying to "make it fit" rather than making choices that best reflect the entry. You don't want to find yourself trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. This is why pre-planning for this entry is key.
Activity: Explore one Video Entry (Since we are in like-certificate groups, the group should choose one to study in-depth)
- Carefully read your Entry Description. It will tell you what knowledge and understanding you will need to demonstrate in the entry. Take it apart piece by piece and talk with a colleague about what it is asking you to show. Begin to think about some units/lessons that you currently do that may be good fits for this entry.
- Know what it is you need to submit, by reading What Do I Need To Do? Planning for the individual pieces of this entry, will help you to make good decisions about what components of your lesson are best to showcase.
- Since the video recording materials you will submit must reflect the elements of teaching practice that are judged essential to the National Board's vision of accomplished teaching, be sure to read and reflect on the Standards outlined in How Will My Response Be Scored? Think about how you might read these Standards through the "lens" of the content of this particular entry's lessons.
- Pick out the key words from the Level 4 Rubric and internalize the connections that can be made between the content of your lesson and your ability to deepen students understanding of the content. How will you specifically provide evidence of these rubric concepts in your written commentary for this entry?
Facilitator: After each step above, read, talk, then complete each section of this form:3. "Walk Through the Architecture" - Materials Needed: Favorite lesson/unit plan from classroom/content area, Cognitive-Architecture graphic organizers, Entry Planner graphic organizer. Facilitator: The purpose of this activity is to provide time for candidates to explore how current lessons/units fit within their regular teaching context. Candidates should work in pairs to allow for plenty of discussion.
Activity: Walk Through an Entry
The purpose here is to simply walk through a favorite lesson and respond to each part of the architecture. This allows participants to see the simplicity of the questions they'll be asked to respond to in the portfolio instructions.
4. "Alignment in the Written Commentary" - Materials Needed: rope, toothpicks, glue (optional) Architecture of Accomplished Teaching, Portfolio Instructions. Facilitator: Follow the numbered "Get a Rope" steps below.
The Architecture of Accomplished Teaching is the framework that supports your Written Commentary. The prompts provided in the Portfolio Instructions are designed in a way that supports the architecture. The purpose of this activity is to find this subtle alignment and consider strategies for ensuring the alignment is written in a clear, consistent, and convincing way throughout the Written Commentary.
Activity: Get a Rope!